Hurricane Irma: Lehigh Acres welcomes Cape Coral refugees

Residents of Cape Coral, unable to find a shelter spot took the trip over the bridge to higher ground in Lehigh Acres.
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Many Cape Coral residents who were too late for the limited shelter space available for people evacuating in anticipation of a Hurricane Irma storm surge found refuge at a shelter on higher ground, in Lehigh Acres.(Photo11: NEWS-PRESS STAFF PHOTO)

The instructions from public safety officials came early and it was direct: People in flood evacuation zones need to get to shelters.

In Cape Coral, where storm surge is a very real threat, shelters filled up quickly.

Lee County opened additional shelters in Lehigh Acres and recommended that people fleeing expected Hurricane Irma flooding head there.

"We had reservations in Augusta, Georgia," said Charles Kanefke who, with his wife Kim, staked out a spot on the gym floor at the Veterans Park Recreation Center in Lehigh.

Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Kanefke is a Red Cross volunteer who was in line to serve as a volunteer in the aftermath of the hurricane. Being someone seeking shelter was a new experience.

"You really get to meet a good cross section of people," he said. "I went to Boy Scout camp for years, we found it was open and were processed and in so quickly."

Kanefke and his wife mark their 24th wedding anniversary Monday, an occasion they did not expect to spend in a crowded gym.

Under the circumstances, it will do.

"It's like an indoor camping trip," said Kim Kanefke. "It's inconvenient, but we are safe, dry, we have electricity, and we're together."

Christian Hall of Cape Coral sat on the gym floor at the Veterans Rec Center playing the card game Uno with members of his extended family of 10, which ranges from teens to an infant.

The group felt fortunate to find shelter off Homestead Road in Lehigh after a search in Cape Coral. Grateful to find it with a dangerous storm surge looming, life in a gym was a challenge for some family members.

"The reason we left was the water," he said. "We grabbed what we could and left."

The recreation center in Lehigh was added to the list of shelters with no announcement, it was added to the list. Officials at the center said there is no intention to close the facility, which they vowed to keep open.

"I never had the experience of being in a hurricane, I've been living in this country for 47 years," said Maria DePabilla of Cape Coral a native of Colombia.

"When we came last night, they were at the door, they were so good with us, it was so fast," she said. "They gave us these wrist bands and I'm going to keep it as a souvenir."